Vucic: We will hold responsible all those who committed crimes in Banjska

The President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, said on Monday that all those who participated in the attack on the Kosovo police in Banjska in the north of Kosovo "will give an account to the institutions of Serbia".

In an interview for American television CNN, Vuçiçi emphasized that this also includes the responsibility of Millan Radoicic, one of the main leaders of the Kosovo Serbs, who took responsibility for the September 24 attack.

"Serbia, of course, will hold responsible all the people who have committed criminal acts and are in our territory. He (Millan Radoicic) is in the territory of Serbia and the prosecution will do its job," said Vucic.

The Kosovo Police was attacked by an armed Serb group in the village of Banjské, in the municipality of Zveçan on September 24, where Sergeant Afrim Bunjaku was killed. The attackers took refuge in the village monastery, after having ambushed a police patrol, from where they continued the confrontation with the police, and as a result three of them were killed.

The Kosovar police arrested and detained three attackers, as well as found an extraordinary arsenal of weapons at the scene after the attack.

Serbia has denied Kosovo's accusations that it was involved in this attack, described as a terrorist attack by the Kosovar authorities.

Five days after the attack , Millan Radoiçiqi took responsibility for this attack, and resigned from the post of vice president of Lista Serbe - the largest party of Serbs in Kosovo, which has the support of the Serbian Government.

On September 30, he gave a statement to the police "in the capacity of a citizen", while the case was taken over by the High Public Prosecutor's Office in Belgrade.

Asked if Serbia had withdrawn its army from the border with Kosovo after the United States called on it last week to do so, Vucic said those reports were "not entirely accurate" and said the Serbian army had 14,000 soldiers in the border with Kosovo years ago.

"A few days ago we had less than 8,400, while today there are 4,400, which is the usual number of personnel. We have always listened to the instructions that our partners have asked us to de-escalate the situation, and we have done it this time too, even though there was no reason for greater caution," said Vucic.

He added that Serbia is "the last country that needs tensions in Kosovo".

"Serbia does not need wars and conflicts with NATO. We want a greater presence of KFOR, especially in the north of Kosovo", said Vucic.

The Serbian army deployed its troops along the border with Kosovo, after the attack on the Kosovo Police at the end of September. However, the president of Serbia claimed on September 29 that the level of combat readiness had not been raised.

The USA and the European Union (EU) have expressed concern about the deployment of Serbian troops near the border with Kosovo.

On September 30, Radio Free Europe observed the movement of a military convoy in the south of Serbia, from the direction of Vranje towards Nis./rel